Kleistpark Frankfurt (Oder)

On a surface area of about 6 hectares there are beautiful trees, lawns, playgrounds and a cable car for younger visitors. Throughout the various phases of its existence its size was reduced by half due to a number of construction measures. At the beginning of the 1970s, a highway was built which ran through the park: the oldest eastern part of the former cemetery was cut off and covered with high-rise buildings. Fortunately it was possible to preserve some of the old gravestones in the park. On a walk you might come across the tomb of Ulrike von Kleist, for example, and that of the organ builder and founder of one of the most important German organ-building institutions Wilhelm Sauer, as well as the tomb of Wilhelm Spieker, founder of the Patriotisches Wochenblatt.

Although not located directly at the park, literary and history enthusiasts will definitely want to seek out the Kleist Museum. Originally established in 1969, the house in the former Garrison School was expanded in 2013 with the addition of a modern, light-flooded extension. The exhibition area was doubled in size and gives visitors a guided tour of the life and work of the famous poet and playwright. The biographies of the poets Ewald Christian and Franz Alexander von Kleist are also featured. The Garrison School building alone is worth a visit: it was built in 1777 on the initiative of Prince Leopold von Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel and according to plans by Frankfurt building inspector Friedrich Martin Knoblauch as a late Baroque structure and opened in 1778 for the children of the soldiers stationed there.

Year of construction: 1802
How to get there: Car: A12 exit Frankfurt (Oder); train: RE1 to Frankfurt (Oder)